Are Millennials Excited Or Threatened By AI?

Millennials are now the largest consumer group. As a result, it only makes sense for businesses to consider their thoughts and feelings when deciding which technologies to invest in. One of the most promising areas of innovation is artificial intelligence (AI), technology that functions in traditionally human ways. Since 2000, there has been a 6X increase in VC investments in AI startups. Plenty of businesses are adopting AI technology and the global revenues from “smart” enterprise applications is expected to grow from $1.62B in 2018 to $31.2B by 2025.

Clearly, the business interest is there. But it’s worth asking another question - are millennials threatened or excited by AI?

The answer to that is complicated. Nearly a third of millennials understand AI and have some experience with it. This is significantly higher than previous generations. So, we know they aren’t ignoring this technology or running from it. Of course, that can be a function of necessity as much as it is interest or desire.

One important thing to note is that a large portion of millennials’ experience with AI is related to chatbots. More than other generations, millennials engage with Siri, Alexa, and a variety of messenger bots hosted by their favorite brands. Bots are already curating product recommendations based upon previous purchases and other information, giving users the option to make purchases and payments directly from messenger apps and offering them assistance with customer support, especially when there are issues with product production timelines or a crisis disrupts the supply chain.

Millennials' fears and AI

Millennials aren’t just the largest consumer group. They are now the primary workforce. This means that just like their parents and grandparents worried about how machines and computers could take their jobs, millennials have the same concerns about AI. In fact, 81% worry about their work duties being fully or partially taken over by AI technology.

Another concern that millennials have is the way that AI collects, stores and uses data. Intelligence agencies have already proven that AI was used to collect social media data, create bots in the form of social media profiles and target people with false and manipulative content in order to influence the recent election.

There’s real fear that AI will be used to exploit information in other ways as well. This isn’t speculative fear either - 91% of cybersecurity professionals fear that AI can be used to compromise company or customer data.

IoT, millennials and AI: slow adoption and concerns

In spite of being digital natives, and known for being very receptive to new technologies, millennials have been noticeably slow to embrace Internet of Things (IoT), the interconnection through the Internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to collect and exchange data. They have concerns about the security of these devices, and seek reassurance when it comes to the personal data being collected and transmitted. Getting millennials to embrace IoT will require creating devices that are better secured and being more transparent about their use of data.

One of the things driving concerns about IoT is the concept of ownership. If someone purchases a washing machine that isn’t connected, there are no questions. They own that item. There’s nothing else to consider. Now, what happens if they purchase a ‘smart’ washing machine? Obviously they own the machine, but their access to the connected features is likely subscription based. Who owns the data that is collected and transmitted? If they no longer wish to use those features, is that data deleted? Can companies continue using that information for marketing or other purposes? Will that data be protected when someone is no longer renting the service?

Dapps and APM could boost confidence in AI security

“When data collected by AI bots or other technologies is predictable, it is easier for hackers to access,” said Artem Koltsov, founder of CasperProject. “When that information travels along the same networks, and is stored on centralized servers, getting to that data is much less complex. With decentralized applications (Dapps), a new breed of applications not controlled by any one single entity, this isn't the case. Because everything is distributed, there is no centralized point from which to steal or compromise data. Since AI is used quite prevalently in ecommerce, the use of distributed apps is one step towards protecting, personal, financial, and legal information.”

The increasing use of application performance management (APM) can also boost confidence overall in the security of AI and associated IoT devices, according to AppOptics. APM tools can help app developers and business leaders better monitor their backend application architecture to discover and resolve user experience (UX) and performance issues, including security and privacy risks, in a timely manner.

Because millennials already have positive experiences in interacting with brands using AI bots, they are very amenable to embracing this technology as it deepens and becomes even more functional. In addition to this, while AI technology may be a perceived threat to millennials in the workplace, it also brings opportunities. Those who are willing to embrace the technologies and learn about data science, blockchain, IoT, virtual reality (VR) and other smart tech will find themselves opening up new career prospects in ways that robotics experts, computer programmers and app developers have in the past.

In spite of having some valid concerns about the technology, millennials largely feel positively about AI. They are knowledgeable about AI, and experienced in using it at least as it applies to bots. In the future, they will be likely to adopt AI technology in the form of IoT as long as their pressing concerns about security and data ownership are addressed appropriately.

I am a writer and lifestyle entrepreneur. After working in the corporate world for over 5 years, I resigned and took to consulting entrepreneurs and companies, including Fortune 500 companies like LinkedIn and Cisco. I have particular interest in how people and businesses h...